A recent publication in the Journal Brain expressed the relationship between the COVID-19 infection and an auto-immune disorder, namely the Guillain Barre syndrome, or GBS.
IOL reports that a COVID-19 infection may prompt the disorder, however, whether the virus is “another potential infectious trigger, or whether the reported cases [as per the study] are coincidental, remains unclear.”
There were also reports circulating that GBS has been listed as a very rare side effect of some of the vaccines. According to Medscape, Janssen and Vaxzevria (previously named AstraZeneca) were some of the vaccines listed. The Johnson & Johnson vaccine against COVID, which was developed using the same technology as AstraZeneca, was also listed for the GBS recently.
What did the study say?
The study oversaw the relationship between reports that over 90 GBS cases arose following possible COVID-19 infections since the pandemic’s beginning.
However, the study expressed that:
“Although Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS) may rarely follow a recent infection with SARS-CoV-2, a strong relationship of GBS with the novel coronavirus is unlikely, say researchers with the International GBS Outcome Study (IGOS) consortium.”
According to Bart C Jacobs from Erasmus MC, University Medical Center Rotterdam in the Netherlands: “the existence of a true association or causal relation still needs to be established.”
In a further investigation, patients of the IGOS, or International GBS Outcome Study were studied by researchers from January 30 until May 2020. Some 49 Guillain-Barre syndrome patients were added to the study during this period from China, Denmark, France, Greece, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, Switzerland, and the UK.
Researchers came to the conclusion that they did not find more patients diagnosed with the GBS during the first four months of the pandemic compared to previous years. This means that a clear connection between COVID-19 and GBS is not likely, but could possibly lead patients to develop the disorder.
Essentially, GBS could be linked to COVID-19 as a trigger, although it has not been confirmed by medical researchers, and has been ruled as a potential side effect for some vaccinations.
What is the disorder?
GBS is an auto-immune disorder and a rare neurological disorder in which the body’s immune system damages nerve cells which can result in pain, numbness and muscle weakness, progressing to paralysis in the most severe cases. Most people fully recover from the disorder says the European Medicines Agency, although it can take years as IOL reiterates.
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